In today’s world, rap has taken streaming services by storm and is essentially the most listened to genre of the bunches. With rappers ruling over the top 100 billboards month by month, it is difficult for any variety to be showcased and promoted regularly. Drake, NBA Youngboy, Gunna, and Lil Baby, to name a few, are some of the most prominent names in the rap industry as of today.
Artists such as these are essentially household names, with their fan bases consisting widely of high schoolers and college students alike. So many of the songs put out by such popular rappers include topics like gang-related activities, cars, or spending money recklessly. Talking of such things is okay, it just gets relatively repetitive when every song that is released talks about the same things, just over a different beat. In certain circumstances, such music is fun to play with friends and to listen to. However, the factor that confuses others, is that many people who listen to this music tend to adopt the culture presented by the rappers and tend to act as if they are living the same lifestyles that the musicians are talking of, regardless of their situations, making this popular genre a bit hard to swallow to others who listen to a variety of music genres, rap included.
To not discredit some of the hidden talents that are today’s rap music media, there are definitely some gemstones amongst the many. With that said, however, artists who tend to stray away from the unspoken formula that is today’s rap, typically do not receive as much exposure as those who give into the violence and self centered culture. I believe that if people were to try and extend their musical horizons, and take a dive into their preferred streaming service database, they could find artists that they could connect with on a more personal level giving the listener more of an experience and feel when listening to music. After all, music is a media, and media is supposed to provide an experience.